Ten Years
by Rinforzando
Summary: Ten years later, Nico is the super idol she's always dreamed of being, and Maki ends up becoming a neurosurgeon after all. They're engaged. Kind of. NicoMaki as clueless adults; canon-compliant.


A/N: Someone sent me a scenario about what would happen if super idol Nico and doctor Maki were together, and I realized that I absolutely _had_ to write about power couple adult NicoMaki. Enjoy!

* * *

Ten Years

* * *

_Nico-chan wouldn't be home for another week_, Maki thought glumly, pushing her chair forward and propping her chin against the handrail of her balcony.

She swirled the cup of red wine in her hand, holding it up against the view of the city landscape and watching the lights reflect off it. They had bought the wine together they attended Nozomi and Eli's wedding in France, which was also where Nico decided to propose to her. Maki smiled—Nico had been acting so _strangely _that day, the weekend before their friends' wedding ceremony. She'd brought her to all sorts of art galleries, even though Maki knew that she usually snoozed her way through the visits. But for some reason, Nico actually took the time to engage with the pieces and have thoughtful, coherent conversations with her.

Then, after a quiet stroll along a waterfront at sunset, Nico had broken out into song all of a sudden and started dancing, singing about high school days and stubborn redhead pianist composer neurosurgeons and _who knew you'd be the one_. And as she finished the song, Nico dropped down to one knee, pulled out a ring box while ending her piece with, 'Will you marry me?'

That'd been over a year ago, and they still hadn't made any plans yet. Maki took another sip of her wine, feeling nostalgic. Usually, she only reserved the drink for when they were together, but nowadays they'd barely had any mutual time. Work obligations had piled up for the both of them lately—for the past month or so—and the most communication they'd been able to manage was a video call every night.

Today would be an exception, though. Nico had said something about a last minute interview—or was it a meeting? (Nico had told her in a haste, and Maki couldn't quite catch what she'd said)—and that left Maki alone on a Friday night, drinking wine by herself to wind down from the stress of the week.

Ever since moving into the apartment with Nico, she'd developed a habit of coming out here every night anyway, just to observe the city life. At thirty stories high, the cars below seemed little more than tiny specks that crawled by, and the racket of rowdy, inebriated university kids celebrating the end of another harsh, sleep-deprived week was nothing more than a dull hum against the light breeze. Being so far removed from the cacophony below felt like a reprieve of sorts, a nice breather that made the chaos of the operating rooms—erratic beeps of cardiac monitors, glaring LED lights, frantic family members—a distant memory.

It was relaxing being away from all of that, and she couldn't really understand how Nico could do it—being surrounded by all the commotion and noise day after day, bombarded by the paparazzi at every angle, cameras flashing in her face at all times. Even as a school idol, it was bewildering having random fans drag her off for pictures and signatures. And no matter how many stories Nico would tell her about life as a super idol, Maki couldn't fully imagine how it was never to have any real privacy for an extended amount of time.

Privacy—a luxury that neither of them fully had, unfortunately. Being the inheritor of the Nishikino General Hospital burdened her with a fair share of press coverage as well, though obviously nowhere near the extent of her hotshot super idol significant other. She envied Nozomi and Eli in that way. They had the freedom to drop everything in Japan and fly off to another country to get married—not that she resented them in the slightest—but still, in comparison, she and Nico were stuck with their own responsibilities that prevented them from really settling down together.

Maki checked her phone. 11 p.m. Nico would probably be at her hotel by now, right? Maki hummed. Nico usually had early days, too, so it wouldn't have been an oddity for her to just pass out before midnight, but she'd at least send a text to say goodnight. There was nothing today, though, except for that one rushed phone call. Odd.

_CRASH._

Maki jumped back from the balcony railing and rushed into the apartment. _What in the world was that? _She swiveled her head back and forth, surveying the room to find anything that may be in disarray, and stopped abruptly when she looked at the bedroom door, her breath catching as she realized that it was ajar.

That was… concerning. She always made sure to close the bedroom door whenever she left, and she hadn't even stopped by the room yet since she got home.

Maki narrowed her eyes, cautiously tiptoeing to the door and grabbing the pocket stick from her back pocket. She'd hoped that she would never have to put those self-defense lessons to use, but if there really was an intruder, then she definitely couldn't be too careful.

Pushing the door open with the back of her hand, Maki realized belatedly, with much horror, that she was still holding her wine glass. If someone were to attack her, then—

"HONEY, I'M HOOOOME!"

Maki screamed.

* * *

"Well, that certainly wasn't the warm welcome I was expecting," Nico grumbled, red wine dripping down from damp, matted pigtails, effectively soaking into her very unfortunately _white_ blouse. Maybe under different circumstances, Maki would've felt guilty for ruining the clothes they'd bought together only just last month, but as it stood, her heart still felt too much like it was about to burst out of her ribcage for her to really care.

"You jump out at me in the middle of a pitch-black room when I expect you to be halfway across the country for another week," Maki retorted, sitting Nico down on the edge of their bed, swiping a towel over Nico's forehead and rolling her eyes unsympathetically at the pout she gave her. "And I thought someone had broken into the apartment! You're lucky I only threw the drink at your face and didn't just clobber you over the head instead."

"I just wanted to surprise you," Nico whined. "You were taking too long to get back inside, so I figured I should make some noise."

"Yeah, and I nearly had a heart attack," Maki huffed, undoing Nico's ribbons before wringing out the wine from her hair.

Seven years of dating, and Nico could still catch her off guard like this. Or maybe it was just practiced ease at this point, a skill honed throughout the years from poking and prodding at buttons to figuring out the most crafty and intricate ways to set her sympathetic nervous system on overdrive. Her hands were still shaking from the scare of Nico's silhouette jumping out at her from the deepest, darkest corner of their room, and, judging from how hard her adrenaline had kicked in, Maki wouldn't have been surprised if the jitters didn't completely settle down until at least an hour later. Lovely.

"Hey," Nico said.

"What," Maki snapped back, flinging the wet towel into the wash bin and grabbing a fresh one.

"Well," Nico began, clearing her throat and puffing up her chest. "Seeing as I am both your significant other and the ultra, fabulous, spectacular Super Idol Nico-Nii—"

_Here she goes again. _Maki sighed.

"—it is my moral obligation to inform you that—HEY." Nico waved a hand over Maki's face. "Your eyes are glazing over! You totally just tuned me out, didn't you?"

Maki raised an eyebrow at Nico's antics, but she smiled despite herself while fluffing out her hair with the towel to dry out the remaining moisture. Admittedly, it was mean to pretend to ignore Nico whenever she hammed it up, especially since her passion and enthusiasm really shined through when she settled into theatrical displays, but Maki couldn't help but relish in the deep, cathartic satisfaction of annoying her in small ways. It was a habit she formed in high school that she never really grew out of. "Oh? Sorry—do go on."

"I was just going to inform you that you were scrunching up your forehead!" Nico finished.

Maki laughed, unconsciously brushing back her own bangs and placing her fingers there. "What? That's it?"

"Yes! You're going to get wrinkles like that."

"Yeah, well. Whose fault is that," Maki deadpanned, working on drying off the other side of her hair.

Nico winced. "Don't be angry?" she pleaded, flashing a stiff, nervous grin and holding up her signature hand sign. "Nico-nico-nii?—ow!"

"Sorry." Maki grimaced, untwisting Nico's locks. "Didn't mean to do it that hard," she said, running her fingers through her hair and rubbing at her scalp, relaxing into a smile as Nico sighed contentedly under her ministrations. "You alright?"

"Great. Fabulous." Nico hummed. "But you know what would make it even better?" she asked, throwing Maki a coy grin and batting her eyelashes before dragging her in by the sleeve of her blazer.

"Mmm, yeah, don't push it," Maki said, pulling back and dropping her smile so she could glower at Nico, "I'm still mad." She cowered back, as expected, and Maki had to repress a chuckle from how quickly Nico's expression swapped from cheeky to contrite.

"Sorry," Nico mumbled, looking to the side and pinching the sheets of the bed with her hand. "I should've been more thoughtful about how I'd surprise you."

"Oh?" Maki made a show of widening her eyes to feign surprise. "What was that?" She curved a hand over her ear. "Don't tell me that the ultra, fabulous, spectacular Super Idol Nico-Nii is actually—gasp—_apologizing_?"

"Heyyy!" Nico pouted. "I'm actually trying to be serious here."

"I know, I know," Maki said, grabbing a brush to tidy up Nico's hair. When she was finished untangling the knots, she stepped back to assess her handiwork. "There—good enough. You're still a bit sticky, obviously, but it'll have to do for now until you take a shower. Unless you wanted to now, but I figured that… um—" She trailed off when she realized how intently Nico was observing her.

Nico leaned forward, her eyes lingering on Maki's hands before sweeping up and down her entire body, a thoughtful expression on her face. "Hmm."

Maki shrunk back, pulling her blazer more tightly over her chest, feeling oddly self-conscious. "What are you doing? You're looking at me really strangely."

"You're not shaking anymore," Nico answered, finally halting her inspection and smiling. "That's good!"

"Oh!" Maki blinked, turning over her hand and realizing that her fingers were indeed no longer trembling. "That's—yeah. Good? Yeah, good." She looked over at Nico inquisitively, raising an eyebrow. "What brought that up?"

"Success!" Nico exclaimed, pumping a fist into the air. "The ever-so amazing Super Idol Nico-Nii does it again! Doing the unthinkable: placating the hotheaded, temperamental—"

"Yes, yes—"

"—heiress of the Nishikino General Hospital!"

"You're so _weird_," Maki groaned, though she couldn't help but laugh.

Then, in a more serious tone, Nico explained, "I know how much you hate being anxious and shaky, especially because you're a surgeon, so I figured I should put my amazing Nico-Nii distraction abilities to use."

Straightening out the sheets, Maki settled down on the bed next to her and threw her an exasperated smile, a familiar warmth bubbling in her chest. No matter how silly Nico could be, Maki was grateful that she could always count on her to be endearingly thoughtful at times. "Clever."

"Of course I am." Nico stuck her tongue out at her before reaching over and lacing their hands. "So, how has work been lately?"

"Hectic. Stressful."

Nico nodded, unthreading their fingers so she could wrap her arm over Maki's back and squeeze her shoulder. "I could tell. You looked pretty wound up when I first saw you. Bad day?"

Maki leaned into her touch. "Not in particular," she said, letting out a tired sigh. "Just—it's been a long week."

"Ah."

"And I thought we weren't going to be able to see each for a while, so I..." Maki scooted closer, burying her face into Nico's neck, not wanting her to see the blush that she felt creeping up her ears. "I… I guess I just felt more bummed out than usual," she finished in a mumble.

Nico pressed a kiss to the top of her head, the gesture feeling much more apologetic than comforting. "I'm sorry. Work, for both of us—"

"I know," Maki cut her off, not wanting to continue that line of conversation. They'd talked about how hard it was to juggle work and their relationship at length already—many times, and Maki didn't particularly feel like squandering their time by beating a dead horse. "It's not our faults. Sorry, I didn't mean to… Can we talk about something else?"

"Of course," she said. Then, leaning back farther into the bed and smiling coyly, Nico continued, "We don't even have to talk." Nico tugged at the sleeve of her blazer again, and this time Maki followed suit, more than willing go along with the shift in mood. "I doubt that we'll need many words, anyway."

Maki raised her eyebrows at the challenge and pushed Nico further into the bed, settling in between her thighs. "Are you so sure about that?" she asked, leaning forward, wanting very much just to pull her closer and inhale her scent—the musk of concert pyrotechnics that always lingered on her after performances, the aroma of the drying wine. She held herself back, though, keeping a deliberate amount of space between them, just close enough to watch Nico's eyes dilate, to hear the soft drumming of her heartbeat, but far enough not to let either of them close the gap on a whim.

"Positive." Without breaking eye contact, Nico dragged a finger up her wrist past the hem of her blazer and smiled when Maki sucked in a shallow breath in response. Maki cursed her own sensitivity. Had it really been so long?

"Close your eyes," Nico whispered.

Maki did. She heard the sheets rustle as Nico shuffled forward, leaning in until Maki could feel her breath tickle her lips. They stayed like that for a few seconds, Nico occasionally taking the time to trace patterns on the underside of her wrist, and Maki had to wet her lips to relieve the prickle of sensation. She could tell that Nico was laughing a bit at her impatience from the way the bed shook, but she decided to pardon her and wait it out anyway. Maki would punish her for the teasing later.

If the past few years of holding a long distance relationship had taught her anything, it was that prolonging journey reaped sweeter rewards. Rushing in made people miss small details, and Maki wanted to savor everything about Nico's slow burn of arousal: even though she couldn't see her, Maki could still feel her breath growing shallower, the fingers on her wrist growing warmer.

"Are you ready?" Nico asked.

Maki wanted to groan in frustration. "Whenever you are," she said instead.

"Then… TAKE THIS!"

And, rather than the kiss she'd been expecting this whole time, Maki found her mouth full of pillow feathers.

* * *

"I can't believe you," Maki said, trying to keep up an irritated expression, but when Nico blew raspberry at her, she ended up laughing as they collapsed on top the mess of feathers on the bed.

Nico fell down next to her, grinning and throwing her a 'Nico-Nico-Nii' hand sign. "At least I can still keep you on your toes."

"Honestly, I'm not sure how. We've known each other for ten years. You'd think that I'd know better by now." Leave it up to Nico to painstakingly build up a romantic mood only to crush it in the grandest, most ridiculous fashion later.

"Babe, I'm an idol," Nico drawled, as though speaking to a child. "I always have to come up with ways to be grand and novel, otherwise I'd be out of a job."

Maki snorted. "Yeah, you sure are something."

"Are you mocking me now."

"Hmm."

Nico flung a few stray feathers in her face, though Maki ducked swiftly to avoid them. "You totally are! Yeesh, you'd think after ten years of knowing each other, you'd be a little nicer to me."

"Imagine how your fans would react if they knew how much of a grouch you really are."

"You're one to speak," Nico sniped back.

"At least I don't have to make a career out of looking goofy and happy all the time."

"Hey! I have fun, too! You know I love being an idol! It's not like I'm forcing it."

"I know. I was just teasing you."

"Wow, we don't see each other for two weeks and all we do is just bully each other."

"I'm sorry," Maki said, turning over and reaching to run her fingers through her hair. It still felt a tad sticky from the wine earlier, but Maki didn't particularly care. "I really did miss you."

"Ugh, you're so not fairrrrrr."

"What?"

Nico puffed up her cheeks. "You can't just go from sarcastic and sassy to—to this! Suddenly all doting..."

Maki smirked. "I have to keep you on your toes, too. It's not easy being the significant other of a world-famous pop idol, you know."

"Yeah, well, imagine being the significant other of the heir of Japan's most renowned hospital chain."

"Imagine if the world knew."Maki inhaled sharply. She hadn't meant to say that.

Nico blinked once, then twice, before staring at Maki wide-eyed. Then, as though the suggestion hadn't surprised her at all, she settled back into her normal haughty expression and said, "We'd be known as the hottest power couple, duh."

"I'm sorry."

"What for?"

Maki withdrew her hand from Nico, holding it against her chest instead. "I know how much being an idol means to you. I shouldn't have said something like that so lightly and offhandedly, especially since that could easily, irreversibly damage your career. It was just a stray thought, and kind of—no, definitely—dumb, too, now that I—"

Nico put a finger against her lips to silence her. "Stop that. It's not dumb. I've been thinking about it, too."

Maki sat up abruptly. "What? No! You shouldn't—"

"And why not?" Nico challenged, joining her. "Maki-chan, we've been engaged for over a _year _now, and no one but our families and old high school friends know. I mean—"

"Your fans," Maki countered. "They'd go insane."

Nico rolled her eyes. "Please. There are plenty of celebrities that are dating, engaged, and married—with children. Plus, it's not like homophobia is a huge issue anymore. Japan legalized same-sex marriage two years ago. More and more idols are coming out, and people don't even bat an eyelash anymore." She shrugged. "I definitely wouldn't mind coming out and speaking up for people who still suffer from homophobia."

"That's true…"

Nico leaned in and touched their foreheads together. "I'm ready whenever you are. Unless you're uncomfortable with the idea, of course."

Was she? Maki stared into Nico's eyes, and sure enough, there was nothing but an honest, steely conviction there. This was a conversation she didn't think they'd be having so soon, and she hadn't really thought everything over yet, but she was sure that her answer would be—

"I'm ready."

Nico let out a huge sigh of relief. "Thank goodness. I was getting sick of having to dodge interviews about my romantic life all the time."

Maki squinted at her. "What. Are you saying that you want to come out only because it'd be more convenient for you."

"Absolutely not!" Nico exclaimed, throwing her a flabbergasted look. "I just want to show the world what a wonderful person my future wife is. She's so smart and caring and multitalented and she _saves lives_. I'm so lucky."

_Future wife_. Maki's heart skipped a beat. "Sweet talker." Honestly, ten years of knowing this stupid brat, and she could still make her heart pound in strange ways.

"Yeah, but you love it."

"I love _you_," Maki said, taking satisfaction in the blush that crept up Nico's neck. Looked like she could still affect her, too, after ten years. "For some reason. Even though you—"

Nico sprung forward and kissed her abruptly on the lips. Before Maki could even react, Nico dashed off with a towel to the bathroom, cackling madly at the fact she'd caught Maki off guard, pillow feathers floating behind in her wake.

"I love you, too!" she called out.

Maki raced after her, huffing indignantly. "Hey! That wasn't fair! I demand a redo!"

Nico peeked out of the bathroom door. "Want to join me, then?"

Maki narrowed her eyes. "No more tricks?"

"No more tricks," Nico promised. Winking, she added, "At least, not those kinds of tricks."

"You're insufferable."

"What are you going to do about it?"

"You're going to regret asking that."


End file.
